


A Christmas for Nahele

by runningwyld



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Adoption, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Family Feels, Father-Son Relationship, Feels, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-24 03:46:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17093426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/runningwyld/pseuds/runningwyld
Summary: When Steve decides to make up for all the Christmases Nahele has missed, he learns that being a father is more than just playing Santa Claus. Fluff with emotions. A Steve/Nahele – father/son story. Although Danny is not in this story, he is mentioned several times. His and Steve’s relationship could be considered pre-slash if you squint just a little. (See story for notes regarding a different version of this fic that I'm posting on another site.)





	A Christmas for Nahele

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own no rights to Hawaii Five-0 or any of its characters. This is a work of fan-fiction and absolutely no infringement is intended.
> 
> In this story, Steve adopted Nahele through Hawaii's single person adoption procedures early in Season 6 after his incarcerated father’s parental rights were terminated. This is a stand-alone story and not part of any current series. Please note that I am also posting a version of this story on another popular fan fiction website as part of a Christmas gift exchange with AvalonReeseFanFics, a talented writer on that site. Although I totally ship McDanno, that version is set within the universe of her ongoing story “Rewrite,” wherein Steve is in a committed relationship with her character, Rowan, and they adopted Nahele together. Other than Steve’s relationship status, there is not much difference in the two versions because this is primarily a Steve – Nahele story. I apologize for any confusion this might cause those of you who come across that version of the story. Thanks for giving this story a chance.

It was the first Christmas since Steve had adopted Nahele, but the Halloween decorations had barely come down before Steve realized that his son, like so many children from broken homes, had never experienced the kind of Christmas every kid deserved to have.  One where Santa left stacks of presents and stockings stuffed with goodies, where everyone spent the morning opening gifts while wearing matching Christmas pajamas, where the extended family came over for dinner and then spent hours camped out in the family room watching sappy Christmas movies and playing with all the new toys and games. No, Steve was sure Nahele had never had that kind of Christmas and even though he was sixteen, he was going to have it this year.  Steve would see to that.  He couldn’t do anything else when Nahele’s answer to the question of what he wanted for Christmas was, “I don’t know, maybe a new book bag.”  That was totally unacceptable. It was time the boy was spoiled.  He thought about buying him a pony, but when Danny pointed out that Nahele was pushing six feet, Steve decided the keys to the Marquis might be a little more fitting, especially since he and Nahele, with the occasional assist from Danny and Charlie, had been spending much of their spare time working on the car together.  Steve was pretty sure they had it running well enough to get Nahele where he was going at least ninety percent of the time ... okay, eighty. And for those times it didn’t, he would set the teen up with a ride-share account to ensure he never got stranded.

Operation Santa Claus, as Steve had deemed it in his mind, had gotten off to a good start. Mary and Joan had come to spend the holidays with them.  Little Joanie, at not quite four-years-old, was beside herself with excitement that Santa was on his way. Although, the adults had to reassure her numerous times that the jolly old elf would be able to find her and wouldn’t mistakenly leave her presents at her apartment in L.A.  On Christmas Eve, when it was just about time to get Joanie ready for bed, Mary gave out gifts boxes containing the Christmas pajamas she had picked out.  Light-weight cotton pajama pants covered with pineapples wearing Santa hats, along with matching red t-shirts for the girls and green t-shirts for Steve and Nahele. After all, they lived in Hawaii and it was too hot, even in December, to wear long-sleeved flannel pajamas.  Steve looked at the festive pineapple design and thought they really should have gotten Danny a pair as well.

After they'd changed into their new pjs and had taken the obligatory family photo, Mary told Joanie to say goodnight. She ran to Steve and Nahele.  “G’night, Uncle Steve. G’night, Hele.”  After hugging her new cousin, the little girl took a step back, put her hands on her hips, and declared, “Hele, you have to go to bed too, or Santa won’t come.”

Steve and Mary laughed and Nahele gave the little girl an indulgent smile. “I’m too old for Santa Claus, Joanie, but I promise I’ll make sure everyone goes to bed soon so Santa will come see you.”

“Doesn’t Santa leave presents for big kids?” Joan asked, clearly confused and unhappy at this possibility.  Steve wasn’t happy either. Instead, the thought that Nahele took it for granted that he wouldn’t be getting any presents from Santa made him sad and more determined than ever to make this a great Christmas for his newly adopted son.

“Nah,” Nahele told her, “but don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll bring you lots of toys.”

“Mommy says that Santa is magic and that as long as you believe in him he’ll keep bringing presents on Christmas Eve. Unless you’re naughty, then he’ll put coal in your stocking. Maybe you just need to believe in his magic more, Hele, then he’ll bring you presents too.”  Joan gave a firm nod to indicate that this made perfect sense. Steve hoped Joanie never lost her childish belief that anything was possible.  At the same time, he prayed he could give Nahele back just a little bit of the childhood he lost way too soon.

“Yeah, Nahele,” Steve told him as he walked over and threw an arm around the boy’s shoulder. “Maybe you just need to believe in Santa’s magic.” That and the fact that he now had a father and an _ohana_  who loved him and would always make sure he had more than just the bare necessities.  Even though the adoption was final, Steve thought a part of Nahele still worried that his new home and family would be snatched away from him or that one day Steve would decide he’d made a mistake and kick him out.  He hoped that this Christmas would help convince Nahele that he was truly part of the McGarrett family.

“Joanie and Steve are right, Nahele,” Mary told him. “I have it on very good authority that while life isn’t always fair and can kick you right in the teeth, sometimes, if you believe enough and trust in those who love you, magic can happen, especially Christmas magic. Right, Steve?”

Steve reached out and picked Joan up, placing her on his hip. “Of course, don’t I have my own Christmas elf right here?” He leaned in and nuzzled his niece's neck, making her giggle.

“See Nahele, even the big, bad Commander believes in Christmas magic,” Mary told him with a grin. “Now go to bed or Santa won’t come.”

“What?” Nahele exclaimed.  “But it’s only 8:00.”

Steve laughed at the incredulous expression on Nahele's face. “That’s a sound argument,” Steve told him. “Alright, you can stay up a while longer, but it’s Christmas Eve and that means an early bedtime for everybody.”  Steve had helped Danny play Santa the few times Grace had actually gotten to spend Christmas Eve with his partner. Danny would moan and complain about all the little pieces that went with whatever toy he was trying to put together.  Steve would insist that it would be much easier if he’d actually look at the instructions.  Through it all, they would eat too many cookies, drink too much milk, and have a really great time. Tonight, Steve got to be Santa for Joanie and Nahele and he was anxious to get started. There were stockings that need stuffing and toys that needed assembling after all.

\-----------------------------------------

The next morning Steve was awakened just before dawn by Joanie’s excited screams of “Santa came, Santa came,” followed by the sound of little feet running and little fists knocking on bedroom doors. Steve grinned and threw back the covers. He better get downstairs before he missed all the fun. 

A few minutes later, as he came down the stairs into the family room he met Nahele shuffling out his bedroom rubbing his eyes. “Wha’ time’s it?”

“It’s present time,” Mary told him joyfully as she walked up and handed Steve a mug of coffee, God bless her.  “Merry Christmas, boys." She grabbed Nahele’s arm, "Come on.  Let’s go see what Santa brought.” Steve watched as Nahele allowed Mary to pull him towards a big pile of presents laid out on one end of the couch.  The coffee table had been pushed to one side and Joanie was already kneeling in front of it happily pulling small gifts and candy out of her stocking. Steve could tell that Nahele was confused by the stack of presents, mostly unwrapped because, hey, the elves have a lot of toys to make, so they don’t have time to wrap them all too. 

As Nahele just stood there silently looking at the pile, Joanie glanced up from her stocking. She hopped up and ran over to her cousin.  “Look, Hele, Santa Claus did bring you toys, and he filled your stocking too.  Aren’t you going to see what all he brought you?”  Before, he could answer she went on excitedly, “I got a baby doll, and a G.I. Joe, and a tea set, you’ll  have to play tea party with me later, and coloring books and new crayons, and - and lots of stuff I haven’t finished looking at yet.”  Joanie immediately ran back to her pile of presents to do just that.  Nahele watched the little girl for a minute before looking back at Steve with a confused look on his face.

Mary took his arm and then gestured towards the gifts.  “Go ahead, Nahele,” she told him gently, “go see what Santa brought you.  Don’t forget the stocking, that’s always my favorite part.”  Steve watched as Nahele silently knelt down on the floor in front of the couch and began to carefully touch each gift, as if testing to make sure each one was real. Steve felt his heart shatter just a little at the thought that Nahele, even with a mound of evidence right in front of him, still didn’t quite believe the gifts were for him.

Steve knew he’d gone a little overboard. Since he were pretty sure that Nahele’s mother hadn’t been able to afford to play Santa after his father was sent prison, he had decided to include toys Nahele had likely missed out on as a child, as well as things more suited to the teenager he was now.  Things like a Hot Wheels race track and cars, several Transformers, including Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Bumblebee, a baseball bat and glove, plus six baseballs were laid out alongside a PS4 and a brand new surf board. The latter of which was leaned against the wall next to the couch. Steve had to admit he was really looking forward to playing with some of the toys. He also planned to take Nahele to the North Shore the next day to try out the new board. When Steve adopted Nahele it hadn’t occurred to him that having a teenager would be the perfect excuse to buy new toys, video games, and sports equipment, but it was definitely an unexpected bonus.

Several games for the PS4 and the keys to the Marquise were wrapped and under the tree with tags indicating they were from Steve, but those would be opened later.  In Nahele’s stocking, besides the usual candy and new toothbrush, there was a Swiss Army knife and small toys like a yoyo, a superball, a Slinky, and Silly Putty – things he remembered getting in his own stocking as a kid.  Mary had insisted on including a mesh bag of chocolate candy individually wrapped to look like gold coins in both Nahele and Joanie’s stockings. They’d had received a bag of the chocolate coins in their stockings every year when they were kids and she wanted to carry on the tradition.

Steve watched as Nahele picked up one of the Transformers, Optimus Prime he thought, and turned it over in his hands almost reverently before putting it back down and reaching for the baseball glove, an outfielder’s glove to be precise.  Nahele put it on his left hand and squeezed it shut a few times before taking it off and setting it back down. He leaned back on his heels and silently stared at all the gifts.  Steve saw the teenager reach up and wipe his eyes before picking up Optimus Prime again.  Steve walked over and laid a hand on his shoulder.  “You okay, Nahele?”

Nahele nodded, but he remained silent, he simply reached up and wiped away more tears before standing and walking to his bedroom.  Optimus Prime was still in his hand when he quietly closed the door behind him.  Steve didn’t know what to do. Was Nahele missing his mother? Did all the gifts bring back bad memories?  Was he overwhelmed by everything? Or, maybe he just wanted to go back to sleep. Steve just wasn’t sure.  He was new at being a father.  How did Danny make it look so easy? He wished his partner was here so he could ask him what to do, but he’d taken the kids to New Jersey for Christmas.  It was Charlie’s first Williams family Christmas – Jersey-style and Steve didn’t want to interrupt that just to ask for parenting advice, even if Danny was the best dad he knew.

“Is Nahele okay?” Joanie asked.  “Did Santa not bring him what he asked for?”

“Nahele is fine, Joanie,” Mary told her daughter.  “I think those were happy tears, but boys don’t like people to see them cry, even happy tears.”

“Oh,” Joanie said, accepting her mother’s explanation.  She immediately went back to pulling things out of her stocking, one item at a time. The little girl carefully examined each and every treasure before reaching for the next one.

“Steve,” Mary said quietly as she walked over to him. She laid a hand on his arm. “Go talk to him.  His life has changed so much in such a short amount of time, what with his mother dying, moving in here after living on the streets, and then the whole thing with his father, not to mention the adoption ... he really hasn’t had time to process everything. I bet he’s just a little emotional because he finally realized that this is all real and it’s not going to be taken away from him.”  She reached up and kissed his cheek.  “Go on big brother, go talk to your son, tell him how much you love him, and reassure him that whatever he's feeling is okay.”

“I just wanted to give him the Christmas he’s never had ... to spoil him a little. I didn’t mean to upset him.”

“He’s not upset.” Mary was quick to reassure him. “Not with you, at least.  Like I said, I think he just got overcome by emotion and is probably missing his mother.  Now go talk to him and I’ll get started on the pancakes.”

Steve pulled his sister into a tight hug, “When did you get so wise?” he asked once he let her go.

“Oh, I don’t know, but it was a long time coming, huh?”

“You’re a great, mom, Mary.  Joanie is lucky to have you.”

“Yeah, well, Nahele is lucky to have you too. Now quit stalling and go check on my nephew.”

“Okay, but please don’t burn down the kitchen while I’m gone.”

\-----------------------------------------

Steve knocked on Nahele’s door, but didn’t wait for an answer before opening it and sticking his head inside.  “Nahele?  Is it alright if I come in?” 

The teenager was sitting on the side of his bed, his head was down and he still had the toy in his hand, but when he shrugged a shoulder, Steve took that as permission to enter.  He closed the door behind him and grabbed the chair from the small desk in the corner.  He pulled it to the bed and sat down facing the teen, their knees almost touching.

“Nahele, are you alright?  It’s okay if you’re a little overwhelmed by everything.  I didn’t mean to make you sad. I just wanted to give you a great Christmas.  Maybe give you a little of your childhood back.”  He watched to see if Nahele would respond since he hadn’t said a word since Mary had shown him his presents from Santa. Steve was somewhat surprised when he actually began to talk.

“When I was eight, I really wanted one of these.” Nahele briefly raised the toy in his hand, but kept his head down as he spoke. “I didn’t believe in Santa and I knew money was tight, so I never asked my mom for one.  She worked really hard and somehow she always managed the necessities, but with my dad in prison there just wasn’t money for a lot of toys, even at Christmas.  That year, she got me some action figures and few other things I’m sure she picked up at yard sales.  I knew she worked really hard to get the money to pay for them. They were great, but I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed that I didn’t get a Transformer.  A lot of my friends got them and I just pretended like they were lame.”  Nahele looked up at Steve with tears in his eyes.  “My mom loved me and she worked really hard to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table even if sometimes it was just boxed mac-and-cheese.  When she got sick, she didn’t go to the doctor right away because that would mean missing work.  If she didn’t work, she didn’t get paid.  When she was diagnosed, she fought really hard. She didn’t want to die and leave me all alone.”  Nahele looked up at Steve and he thought the teen must need reassurance that his mother hadn’t left him willingly.

“I know she must have fought really hard to stay with you.”  He leaned forward and brushed a hand across Nahele’s hair and then gripped his shoulder, urging the boy to look at him. “She was a great mom and she loved you. Maybe she wasn’t able to give you a lot a material things, but what she did give you was so much more important. You’re smart, and kind, and honest, and you have a huge heart.  I’ll always be grateful to your mom for instilling those qualities in you. You’re a son any parent would be proud of and that is a testament to her.  I hope you never forget how much she loved you and that she only wanted the best for you.”

"I really miss her," Nahele sobbed.

Steve quickly moved to the bed and wrapped the boy in his arms. Nahele cried for what seemed like an eternity. Steve was new to being a dad and wasn’t sure what he should do, so he did what he wished his own father had done for him after his mom “died” and simply held his son while he cried.  Steve rubbed his back and whispered reassurances in his ear. Eventually, the tears stopped and Nahele pulled back, wiped his forearm across his wet eyes, and took a shuddering breath.

"I'm sorry," Nahele said, embarrassed. 

“Hey, hey,” Steve wrapped his hand around the back of Nahele’s neck to get him to look at him again.  “You have nothing to be sorry about, you understand me? You never have to be ashamed of your feelings or of expressing them,” Steve told him as he channeled his inner- Danny. 

At the teen's distraught look Steve continued, “I love you, Nahele. You’re my son now.  You’ll always be my son, just like you’ll always be your mother’s son.  She’d want you to be happy.  She would want you to have things she wasn’t able to give you, to have a good home and a family who loves you.  And, she’d want you to enjoy being a kid while you still can. Just remember that a parent’s love, hers and mine, is so much more important than Optimus Prime or a video game. But, that doesn’t mean they aren’t still fun to play with and that's alright.”

Nahele nodded as he rubbed away the last of his tears. “Do you think we could play catch later?” he asked almost shyly. “I always wanted to play Little League, but I didn’t have anybody to teach me the fundamentals or to buy me a glove.”

“Sure, we’ll go have a catch after we finish opening presents.  And I bet we can get Danny and Grace to play with us sometime, Charlie too. Danny and I actually coached Grace’s team one year.  I’ll never admit it to him, but Danny’s really pretty good.”

“That’d be great,” Nahele gave him a watery smile and a nod. “I really do like all my presents, I guess I just wasn’t expecting to get so much and then seeing Optimus Prime and the baseball stuff, it just hit me how much I wanted those things as a kid, and then I felt guilty because I miss my mom so much, but I’m really happy here with you. It’s been fun having Aunt Mary and Joanie around too. I guess it all just got to me.”

“Hey, that’s okay. Danny would say you needed to get it all out – to talk about your feelings.  I think maybe he’d be right.  Don’t tell him I said that,” Steve quickly added and he was glad to see that it earned him a slight smile. “I hope you believe me when I tell you that you don’t have to feel guilty about being happy, because I know for a fact that’s what your mother would want – for you to be happy.”

“She would and she would be real glad that I found a family. It’s too bad Danny, Grace, and Charlie aren’t here.  I miss them.”

“Me too, but they’ll be back in a few days. We’ll have them over for a New Year’s barbeque. What do you think?”

“That sounds really good.”

Steve gave Nahele another hug, accompanied by a quick slap on the back.  “I love you, son.” Steve stood, pulling the teenager up with him, and then he threw an arm around the boy’s shoulders. “Now come on, go wash your face, then we’ll go see if Mary has actually managed to make pancakes without destroying the kitchen.  After breakfast, we can finish opening presents. There’s a heavy, odd shaped one with my name on it that I’ve been dying to open for days.”

They both laughed, but before they reached the bedroom door, Nahele stopped him. Steve thought the teenager may need a little time to himself before facing Mary and Joanie, but instead, Nahele gave him the best gift of all. “I love you too, Dad.  Merry Christmas.”

**The end.**

**Author's Note:**

> Looking in my stocking was always my favorite part of Christmas morning. Somehow, Santa was always able to find fun, inexpensive, but unique little stocking stuffers, and there was always a bag of gold (chocolate) coins.
> 
> Merry Christmas.  
> Happy Holidays.  
> Season's Greetings.


End file.
